Effort by St. Joseph’s Health to Cut Opioid Proposed as National Model

By TAPINTO PATERSON STAFF

March 8, 2018 at 5:44 PM

Credits: healthykidstoday.com

By TAPINTO PATERSON STAFF

March 8, 2018 at 5:44 PM

WASHINGTON, D.C.- Touting the success of the Alternatives to Opiates (ALTO) program, Congressman Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-09) announced the introduction of legislation to provide hospitals across the country additional resources to fight opioid addiction.

Under the legislation, St. Joseph Medical Center’s ALTO program, which has led to a 60 percent decrease in emergency department opioid prescriptions in the first year, would become a national model.

According to a joint statement released by a bipartisan group of members of the House of Representatives and the US Senate, over 100 people die each day from opioid overdose. 40 percent of these deaths, the reports reads, involved a prescribed opioid.

“I believe this will be a critical step in fighting the opioid scourge that is devastating communities across my district and the nation,” said Pascrell. “Pioneered at St. Joseph’s Medical Center in my hometown, their approach has shown dramatic results in keeping unnecessary opioids out of patients’ hands. Our legislation would take the St. Joe’s ALTO model nationwide, providing emergency rooms across the country with a blueprint for preventing countless overdoses from happening in the first place.”

Saying that the short-term nature of the care they provide makes them “susceptible to doctor-shopping,” a term used to describe the practice of obtaining multiple prescriptions from various providers, the statement reads that emergency rooms are “well positioned to be laboratories of new innovations and procedures to combat the crisis.”

“Our nation’s opioid epidemic continues to cause extraordinary pain and suffering, and is tearing families and communities apart,” said Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ). “To combat this public health crisis we need to invest in promising, innovative models. Our bipartisan bill, built on the success of a program in New Jersey, would not only help prevent addiction by reducing the number of opioid prescriptions written in emergency rooms, but it would also help us better understand safe and effective alternatives to prescribing opioids.”

In addition to establishing the ALTO model as a national framework for cutting the use of opioids, the legislation would also provide grant funding to hospitals to build the program and require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to submit a report to Congress on the results of the program and issue recommendations for broader implementation.

PATERSON, NJ - An investigation is underway into the shooting death of a Paterson man overnight.

According to Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes and Paterson Police Chief Troy Oswald, members of the Paterson Police Department responded to the area of the intersection of East 28th Street and 10th Avenue at approximately 11:38 p.m. in response to a call of shots fired.

Upon their ...

PATERSON, NJ - An investigation is underway into the shooting death of a Paterson man ...

PATERSON, NJ – Paterson’s annual Thanksgiving game will continue this season, though the game will be played the day before families sit down for their annual holiday feast.

According to a statement by Paterson Public Schools the Eastside High School Ghosts will take on the John F. Kennedy High School Knights Wednesday, November 21 at Bauerle Field. Kick-off will be at 6:00 p.m. with the ...

PATERSON, NJ – Paterson’s annual Thanksgiving game will continue this season, though the game will ...

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ - Thursday's autumn snowstorm hit much harder than weather forecasts predicted, the worst of it when most people would be on the roads for the evening rush hour, said Rutgers University professor and state climatologist David Robinson.

"The weather forecast was incorrect. I'm not a forecaster and I don't like to throw darts, but it was a blown forecast," Robinson ...

PATERSON, NJ- Paterson public schools will close early on Thursday due to the anticipated inclement weather. Forecasts are calling for between 1-3 inches of snow and strong winds causing potentially dangerous driving conditions.

According to a telephone message, Paterson Public Schools officials, based on their tracking through the night, “expect the storm to hit Paterson during the school ...

PATERSON, NJ- Paterson public schools will close early on Thursday due to the anticipated inclement ...

PATERSON, NJ – 20 colleges and universities including Rutgers University, NJIT, Montclair State University and William Paterson University will be in Paterson on Saturday as part of a college fair hosted by the Paterson Youth Council (PYC), which is facilitated by New Jersey Community Development Corporation (NJCDC).

The college fair, offering Paterson high school students the opportunity to ...

PATERSON, NJ – On Tuesday U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-09) announced that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has awarded $3,336,144 to the Paterson Community Health Center to provide primary health care to low-income residents.

"The Paterson Community Health Center provides vital healthcare services to those in our community who need it most. With this federal grant, the ...

PATERSON, NJ – On Tuesday U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-09) announced that the U.S.

PATERSON, NJ - With temperatures expected to dip below freezing Wednesday into Thursday pet owners are reminded that extreme can be dangerous to pets.

According to New Jersey state law dogs cannot be outside if temperatures are below 34 degrees without proper shelter (insulated, elevated, heated). Keep your pets safe and avoid getting a fine by bringing your pets indoors any time the ...